Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was open to “little pauses” in its fight against Hamas — although it was not clear whether some kind of small stoppage had been agreed to or whether the U.S. was satisfied with the scope of the Israeli commitment.
Quick Read
- Netanyahu on Pauses: Indicates Israel’s willingness to implement “little pauses” in conflict, specifics unclear.
- Security Control: Israel to maintain “overall security responsibility” over Gaza indefinitely post-war.
- Cease-Fire Stance: Rejects general cease-fire without Hamas releasing over 240 Israeli hostages.
- U.S. Talks Inconclusive: Biden’s call for humanitarian pauses yields no firm agreement with Israel.
- Palestinian Casualties Reported: Over 10,000 Palestinians dead, including 4,100 children and 2,640 women.
- Deaths in West Bank and Israel: Violence has claimed over 140 Palestinian and 1,400 Israeli lives; 242 Israelis taken as hostages.
- Movement Through Rafah: About 1,100 people exited Gaza via the Rafah crossing, implying a multilateral arrangement.
- Israeli Mourning: One-month anniversary of Hamas attack solemnly observed; over 1,400 Israelis killed, 348 soldiers among them.
The Associated Press has the story:
Netanyahu: Israel is open to ‘little pauses’ as it bombards Gaza
Newslooks- (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was open to “little pauses” in its fight against Hamas — although it was not clear whether some kind of small stoppage had been agreed to or whether the U.S. was satisfied with the scope of the Israeli commitment.
Netanyahu said Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages.
His comments, in an interview that aired late Monday on ABC News, offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians, also said there would be no general cease-fire in Gaza without the release of the hostages.
U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but there was no agreement reached, the White House said. Lulls in the fighting are being sought to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and the release of some of the estimated 240 hostages that Hamas seized during its Oct. 7 raid into Israel.
Netanyahu ruled out any general cease-fire without the release of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 raid into Israel, but said he was open to “tactical little pauses.” U.S. President Joe Biden had raised the need for humanitarian pauses directly with Netanyahu on a call earlier Monday, but no agreement was reached, the White House said.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 10,000, including more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.
ISRAELIS OBSERVE ONE-MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF HAMAS ASSAULT
JERUSALEM — Israelis observed a minute of silence on Tuesday morning in memory of the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and the 348 soldiers killed since the assault, on its one-month anniversary.
Israelis are marking the anniversary as a day of mourning over the attack, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and 242 were taken hostage. The one-month anniversary is a milestone in the timeline of Jewish mourning.
Memorial events are scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem later in the day.
